The first winter storm of the season created blizzard conditions from Colorado to Wisconsin on Thursday, leaving tens of thousands without power as far south as Arkansas. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport reported flight delays and more than 90 cancellations, and interstate highways were closed in Missouri and Nebraska because of blowing snow. Nearly a foot of snow fell in Des Moines, Iowa, while Omaha, Neb., got 8.6 inches. In southeastern Utah, a woman whose car got stuck in the snow tried to walk for help but was found dead, buried in snow, a few miles away. Meteorologist Scott Dergan said Nebraska and Iowa should expect very low temperatures. "We're talking single digits," he said. "We may even see some subzero temperatures in Nebraska. This cold weather will stick around for several days, maybe until the day after Christmas. So we're definitely going to have a white Christmas."

A Mayan priest prays during a ceremony Thursday in Tecpan, Guatemala, at the Iximche archeological site in preparation for the Oxlajuj B'aktun -- the end of the Mayan calendar on Friday, Dec. 21, that some people are calling the end of the world. (Moises Castillo/AP Photo)

The Chinese government has arrested almost 1,000 members of a doomsday cult that believes the world will end Friday, inaugurating a new era presided over by a female Jesus. The Church of Almighty God, which China describes as an "evil cult," has been holding outdoor prayer vigils and handing out pamphlets warning people that the only way to survive is to join the church. The Christian cult, founded 20 years ago and also known as Eastern Lightning, has long faced persecution. Critics say it gains converts by kidnapping and subjecting prospects to study sessions lasting days. Members reportedly do not know each other's real names and go by nicknames like "Doggy" and "Little White Rabbit." The group has recently been prophesying the demise of the Great Red Dragon, its term for the Communist Party. Many Chinese are swept up by fears that the world will end on Dec. 21, coinciding with the end of the Mayan calendar. One entrepreneur in Zhejiang province has sold 26 steel-and-fiberglass floating spheres -- with oxygen tanks, solar lightning and seat belts -- that can sustain as many as nine people for months in the event of a world-ending flood. Chinese authorities hasten to assure the masses that reports of their imminent demise are exaggerated. "The end of the world is purely a rumor," the Shanghai police said in a microblog message. "Do not believe it. Do not fall for the scam."

A 6-year-old girl remembered for her constant smile, Catherine Hubbard, was mourned at a funeral Thursday in Newtown, Conn. -- one of many memorials held for school shooting victims. Services were also scheduled for Benjamin Andrew Wheeler, 6, Jesse Lewis, 6, Allison Wyatt, 6, Grace McDonnell, 7, and teachers Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau and Anne Marie Murphy. Murphy's father, Hugh McGowan, said authorities told him that she died trying to shield your students from a gunman's bullets. Cardinal Timothy Dolan said at her funeral in New York that she "brought together a community, a nation, a world, now awed by her own life and death." At the Newtown funeral for Wheeler, described as a Beatles fan, "Here Comes The Sun" was played. At Rousseau's memorial in Danbury, the congregation sang "Morning Has Broken." At least nine funerals and wakes were held Wednesday, and more are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

One of America's most prominent mayors, Cory Booker of Newark, says he won't challenge Chris Christie for governor but he is considering a run for Senate in 2014. "Let there be no doubt, I will complete my full second term as mayor," Booker said in a statement posted on Facebook. "As for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for the United States Senate in 2014." It's not clear whether the current senator, 88-year-old Democrat Frank Lautenberg, will retire or be forced to run against Booker. Many analysts thought Booker was the Democrats' best hope for unseating Republican Gov. Chris Christie, whose popularity soared as a result of his handling of superstorm Sandy.

A toad stuck inside a porcelain candlestick survived a journey from China to South Africa -- where it will now be euthanized because it would be an invasive species. The Star newspaper quoted Cape Town animal expert Brett Glasby as saying animal rescue workers had to break the candlestick to get the toad out. He said the Asian common toad can survive privation and drought by slowing its heart rate and breathing. Workers fed the hungry little guy worms and crickets -- but because it's a non-native species, they now plan to execute their hapless captive. That's toadally coldblooded.

The Wire, a summary of top national and world news stories from the Associated Press and other wire services, moves weekdays. Contact Karl Kahler at 408-920-5023; follow him at twitter.com/karl_kahler.